The links section of this blog points readers to many and various useful posts and articles on procedure. Today, however there are two that need singling out as part of the “Surviving Mitchell” strategy. LEGAL ORANGE Reading Mitchell-Proofing your claim…
Such is the all embracing nature of the Mitchell decision that decisions are coming through on a daily basis. There were two cases that referred to Mitchell on Lawtel this morning (11th March 2014) and another which was an application…
I am putting together a list linking all publicly available links to those people who responded to the Civil Justice Council request for responses on the Jackson Reforms. I am looking for more links and will add these as they…
Two recent cases have emphasised the importance of a prompt response to procedural issues. Anything other than “promptness” courts danger with the courts. The duty to act “promptly” does not just apply to making applications for relief from sanctions. A…
I have added the case of Hague Plant Ltd -v- Hague [2014] EWHC 568 (Ch) to the “Mitchell Watch” section. It concerned a second application to amend the Particulars of Claim in a complex and long running commercial case. I will…
There have been several posts about the proper preparation and collation of trial bundles. An interesting comment from HHJ Behrens in the case of Burnard -v- Burnard [2014] EWHC 340 (Ch) indicates that, bundles remain far from perfect. BURNARD Judgment…
Following the 69th amendment to the Civil Procedure Rules Birmingham Mercantile Court has revised its Case Management Conference Notice. This deals with the new statement of truth from the 22nd April. The Notice is worth reading even if you don’t…
There has been a lot of publicity surrounding the new statement of truth on the Form H. The situation has not been helped by the fact that the MOJ gave the wrong date for implementation of the change. The date…
The case of Miaj –v- Jalil (CA 6/3/2014) is reported briefly on Lawtel today. It involves the correct approach of the Court after granting relief from sanctions. More detailed commentary, will follow once the full transcript is available. THE FACTS…
I have made some changes to the Mitchell Case Watch section of the blog. Now, in addition to links through to the cases, there are adjoining links to those posts on the blog where the case was discussed. This should…
In civil proceedings witnesses are commonly present throughout the entire action. On occasions a request is made that witnesses be excluded. There is little authority for the proposition that a court can exclude witnesses or guidance as to how the…
I have already written a post on the rule changes that come into force on 1st April. In particular the new “stakeholder” provisions which replace the interpleader rules. There are other sources which summarise the rule changes and should be…
The case of Chartwell Estate Agents Ltd -v- Fergies Properties Ltd [2014] EWHC 438 (QB) has been dealt with in an earlier post. At that stage a Lawtel summary of the case was available. The full transcript is now released. CHARTWELL:…
The case of Samara –v- MBI & Partners EWHC 563 (QB) considers whether the “Mitchell” criteria is relevant to applications to have judgment set aside. THE FACTS The claimant entered judgment in default. It was more than a year later, after…
The Clarke –v- Barclays Bank [2014] EWHC decision is interesting for a number of reasons. Among other things it provides object lessons in the dangers of failing to make prompt applications and assuming cases will settle. It also highlights the…
Case management and costs budgeting remain one of the Jackson innovations we are still getting used to. There are several useful guides that assist, plus one company offers a free service providing the bundle for the Case Management Conference. This…
The problems of serving by e-mail have been discussed several times on this blog. The need for the recipient to “opt in” to receipt coupled with potential problems in proving service can give rise to difficulties. I know from e-mails…
I am giving a webinar for CLT on the 4th March. Booking details can be found here “Limitation and PI Claims: 10 Myths that Every Practitioner Should Know” This webinar identifies and debunks 10 of the most common myths and…
The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules were passed yesterday. There is a whole mass of detail. NEW “STAKEHOLDER” PROVISIONS One interesting aspect is the introduction of a new CPR Part 86 new “Stakeholder” provisions. These replace the old High Court…
I put up a number of posts and articles in the recent articles and posts section of the blog most days. I will, occasionally, draw attention to a particular post. Today I have to draw attention to the article in…
Following the blog posts about troubles with the court about issue and secret letters which appear to govern how proceedings can be issued came the following comment from Dominic Cooper of I E Legal. “It surprises me that any of…
I set out the result of this case in some detail in an earlier post. At that time the transcript of the case (which relates to compliance with peremptory orders) was not available. The transcript is now available on…
Cases relating to relief from sanctions are being reported on a daily basis. Here we look at the decision yesterday of Mr Justice Smith in Associated Electrical Industries Ltd –v- Alstom Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 4330 (Com). A case where…
Yesterday I wrote of problems when the court was refusing to issue proceedings alleging (wrongly) that they were statute barred. It is becoming frightening that important issues of law are being made (or purportedly made) by administrators. This led to…
Hot on the heels of the complaint about the court wrongfully striking out an action came another, remarkable story about the court refusing to issue proceedings because of alleged limitation issues. THE REMARKABLE STORY Here it is in its original…
I set out the main part of the judgment of Leggatt J in Summit Navigation Ltd –v- Generali Romani [2014] EWHC (Comm) yesterday. Here I look at the salient parts of the judgment and highlight the very real dilemma that…
Some of the (repeatable) epithets used to describe the consequence of the Mitchell judgment are “mayhem” “madness” and “mess”. In Summit Navigation Ltd-v- Generalia Romonia [2014] EWHC 398 (Comm) Mr Justice Legatt was critical of a party who took a…
The case of Chartwell Estate Agents –v- Fergies Properties Ltd (QBD Globe J 18/02/2014) is reported in brief on Lawtel this morning. It is an example of the court granting relief from sanctions following late service of witness statements. This…
There are real dangers in leaving service of the claim form until the last moment. The Lincolnshire case considered here exemplifies the problems. . The judge pulled no punches in relation to the risks being run by those who…
I am grateful to Simon Baskind from Cohen Cramer solicitors in Leeds for the following account of a “Mitchell” problem. ACTION STRUCK OUT BY THE COURT FOR NO GOOD REASON “I know we are all probably suffering from Mitchell overload…
Cases on the Mitchell principles are reported almost on a daily basis. It is difficult to keep track. Here I recap on the key points of surviving Mitchell. I am sure there are many more to come. Here are 10…
COOKE -v- VENULUM PROPERTY INVESTMENTS LTD [2013] EWHC 4288 Freezing orders are part of the “nuclear weapons” of civil litigation. As such they should be approached with extreme care. This case illustrates the dangers involved when a party seeks a…
It is unusual to see the Court of Appeal granting relief from sanctions without reference to CPR 3.9 or the decision in Mitchell. That is precisely what happened in Nelson –v- Circle Thirty Three Housing Trust Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ…
I decided from the outset that this blog will be a medium for information rather than opinion.However Rachel Rothwell asked me to write an article for the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers Personal Injury Focus. She wanted my opinions. The…
WAHID AND SHADKAM –V- SKANSKA UK PLC AND RIVERSTONE INSURANCE [2014] EWHC 251 (QB) (Mrs Justice Slade DBE). (This case has not yet been reported on Bailli and I will deal with the facts in some detail). THE FACTS This…
In the furore that now surrounds civil procedure it is often forgotten that the rules of civil procedure are a means to an end. That end being that there IS a fair trial on the disputed issues between the parties,….
The problems surrounding agreements to extend time remain a constant headache for litigators ever since the decision in Lloyd stated that it was not open to the parties to agree to extend time by consent. Here we look at the…
This decision by Hamblen J and reported at [2014] EWHC 275 was dealt with briefly last week. Here we take a detailed look at the case which involves several issues, including: Time for compliance with an order. The meaning of…
The Lord Chief Justice has issued a Practice Direction on access to Audio Recordings of Proceedings. CONTENTS The Practice Direction clarifies the position in relation to the obtaining of, and listening to, recordings of proceedings. It makes clear that there…
Relief from sanctions was granted by Hamblen J in the case of Lakatamia Shipping -v- Nobu Su [2014] EWHC 275 (Comm). A full blog post on the case will will follow. For the time being I will note his conclusion….
I have already commented on the highly technical points being taken as a result of the Mitchell decision. In Devon County Council -v- Celtic Bioenergy Ltd [2014] EWHC 309 (TCCStuart-Smith J considered the effect of a schedule of costs being…
The case of Newland –v- Toba Trading involves some complex facts. However it is important that it is reviewed n detail because there are important observations on civil procedure. In particular whether a party should apply for a review or…
It has to be recognised that the decision in Mitchell means, inevitably, that parties will take issue with minor breaches. Indeed it may be negligent for them not do so. In The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland…
The Mitchell criteria were considered by Mr Justice Blair in S.E.T. Select Engineering GMBH –v- F&M Bunkering Ltd [2014] EWHC 192 (Comm). There are some interesting observations about whether relief from sanctions applies when an application to dispute jurisdiction is…
I have heard a lot comments on the impact of the Jackson Reforms, (some of it unprintable). The Civil Justice Council is holding a conference in March on the impact of the reforms and is inviting “position papers”. I would…
JONES –V- WEALTH MANAGEMENT (UK) LTD (2014) Ch D (Arnold J) 12/02/2014 This case is reported briefly on Lawtel today. It concerns an application for relief from sanctions in insolvency proceedings. The relief from sanctions application was made prior to…
A recent post looked at potential problems with serving documents by e-mail. That this is a very real issue is shown by a report of a decision sent to me by counsel. The full details of the case are withheld. …
It appears that the proposed change to allow the parties to vary orders by consent only applies to clinical negligence cases. Lexis Law Dispute Resolution report The Judicial Office has released this statement: “A draft amendment to the clinical negligence…
An earlier post about the problems of serving documents by e-mail led to a flurry of comments on twitter about similar issues in relation to filing documents at court . I am awaiting some reports of cases where the lodging…
ANDREW WILKEY –V- BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION [2002] EWCA Civ 1561 Wilkey was a case in which the Court of Appeal considered the practical impact of the decision in Godwin v Swindon Borough Council [2002] 1 WLR 997 and Anderton v…
